Don’t Phunk With My Black Eyed Peas
Evening! I hope your day has gone well.
Ryan and I hit the store this afternoon to buy the necessary items for a Southern dinner feast…vegetarian style. On the menu: black eyed peas, collard greens + kale, and cornbread.
We usually eat black eyed peas every New Years day for good luck, but I decided to test out this recipe early since our traditional one has meat in it (ham hock…yuck!). Do you eat black-eyed peas for good luck in the New Year? It’s something we’ve done since I was a little girl—I’m pretty sure it works, too! I’ve always had good luck 
Can I just say that I’d like to pat myself on the back for this one? It was D-E-L-I-S-H. The black-eyed peas started out as a recipe from The Vegan Table, but we strayed from the original pretty quickly. Our final recipe was:
Southern Style Black Eyed Peas (just in time for the New Year!)
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. bacon salt (yes, it’s vegetarian!!)
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
2 16 oz. cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. brown sugar
Directions:
In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil. Add garlic and onion and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add bacon salt and cook for another 5 minutes. Add red and green bell pepper, thyme, and liquid smoke. Cook for another 5-10 minutes. Add black eyed peas, tomatoes, vegetable broth, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Add brown sugar and stir to incorporate.
Prepare yourself for a year of luck!!!
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this recipe, but it was really, really good! We served our black-eyed peas over brown rice. My dad and Ryan added ham to theirs 
Along with the peas, we had sautéed collard greens and purple kale. I hadn’t planned on adding the kale, but I found some really pretty purple kale at the grocery store, so I decided to throw it on in for a little variety and an extra healthy kick! I sautéed the greens in my mom’s big wok, with about a tablespoon of olive oil. I also added a tbsp. of brown sugar, about 1/4 cup of golden raisins, and about 1/4 cup of vegetable broth. This was a delicious side!
All together:
Topped with some good old-fashioned Louisiana Tabasco sauce:
Hope you’re having a good night wherever you are! I think we’re going to play a little Scrabble and then head to bed.
Good night, dear readers!
Stephen and I love Scrabble! When he was deployed to Afghanistan, we played it online together every night.
I’d like to try purple kale!
I never knew about the black eyed peas on New Years rule!? Is that a New Orleans thing? I love it, very cool!
I LOVE collards and kale. My last boyfriend was from South Carolina and he did southern cooking up right. I’m definitely bookmarking this recipe because it looks delicious!
lol– oops! I guess it is a Southern thing! Here’s an article that explains it:
http://www.texasmonthly.com/mag/issues/2003-01-01/texashistory.php
Mmm, mmm, mmm … those black eyed peas sounds wonderful
Hope you had a wonderful game of Scrabble!
Ahh, good eats AND scrabble? Sounds like a perfect night
MMMMM! That looks delicious!
Question: what is liquid smoke? Where would you get that?
Hey Karla, liquid smoke comes in a little bottle, and in our grocery store it was with the other bbq stuff. The ingredients are water, natural hickory smoke flavor, vinegar, molasses, caramel color, and salt. We got the Colgin brand because they make a point of saying on their package that the product is vegan.
You can basically use it in any recipe where you would want a smokey (aka, meaty), hickory flavor. The original black eyed pea recipe usually calls for smoked ham or ham hock or bacon, so it was kind of making up for that.
Try it!
great southern dinner! LOVE me some green collards!
Those black eyed peas sound delicious! This recipe is definitely bookmarked for future use
I had never heard of the this tradition! I love BEP, and I will see how I can work it in for our New Years Eve meal
Thanks for the recipe. I never know what to do with black-eyed peas!
Yum! What a great looking dinner. Sadly, Nick would probably only eat the corn bread if I made this meal. He isn’t into black eyed peas or kale, although kale is one of my favorite veggies (I just made some last night!). Collard greens are another great veggie that Nick won’t eat, sadly. Oh well, one night I’ll have to create a southern meal for just myself! I do that a lot actually, but he’s really good about trying things. haha, I talk about him as if he’s my son!
I’ve actually never had black eyed peas! You’ve inspired me to try them!
I always ate black eyed peas on New Years growing up! I may have to steal your recipe for Friday!
We always eat black eyes peas on New Years! GOODLUCK BABY! We will definitely be endulging in ours on Januray 1!!
I love the title! I don’t think I have ever had black eyed peas, but I should give them a try!
I love cornbread, although I have only had it a few times- ah, I’m such a California girl (minus the blonde hair)!
LOVE collards.. so delish.. and black eyed peas?? YES please!
Holy yum! Your black eyed peas look good!! I’ve never eaten them on New Year’s for good luck… where have I been all these years?
I haven’t heard of that tradition, BUT that looks divine!
Have you tried Scrabble SLAM? I got it for Christmas. It’s a lot of fun!